Hunter Biden’s Firm Received $3.5 Million from One of Russia’s Most ‘Powerful’ Oligarchs

A new report by the Senate Homeland Security Committee indicates that Hunter Biden’s private equity firm received $3.5 million from one of Russia’s most “powerful” female oligarchs in 2014.

The report, which was made public on Wednesday, shows that Rosemont Seneca Thornton, LLC, a firm that Biden incorporated with his longtime business associate Devon Archer in May 2013, had a previously unknown financial relationship with Yelena Baturina, a Russian businesswoman now living in the United Kingdom. According to bank documents reviewed by the Homeland Security Committee, Baturina wired $3.5 million to a bank account controlled by Rosemont Seneca Thornton as part of a “consultancy agreement.”

At the time of the transfer, Baturina, a well-known construction magnate, was living in the United Kingdom with her late husband Yuri Luzhkov, a onetime mayor of Moscow. Baturina and her husband immigrated to Great Britain in 2011 after Luzhkov was dismissed from public office by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev as part of a public corruption probe. The former mayor, in particular, was accused of using his office to approve more than 20 real estate projects linked to Baturina’s business interests, according to the Homeland Security Committee.

“In addition, a Russian investigation led to a criminal case against the former head of the Bank of Moscow, Andrey Borodin, who ‘allegedly used money from the Moscow City Budget to lend money to shell companies, which ultimately transferred $443 million to Baturina,’” the committee’s report notes.

Luzhkov’s alleged grift was supposedly substantial enough to help propel Baturina into the ranks of Russia’s wealthy elite, with Forbes reporting in 2019 that her estimated net worth was $1.3 billion. Baturina’s fortune was large enough to qualify her as Russia’s richest woman and, as the Daily Mail has noted, the country’s most “powerful female oligarch.”

The nature of Baturina’s “agreement” with Rosemont Seneca Thornton remains unclear. The Homeland Security Committee’s report stems from an investigation into Biden’s ties to Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian natural gas conglomerate whose founder has been accused of public corruption, embezzlement, and bribery. Biden served on the company’s board of directors between 2014 and 2019, earning somewhere in the range of $83,000 per month.

Biden received appointment to the company’s board despite no background in either Eastern Europe or the energy sector, shortly after his father, former Vice President Joe Biden, was tapped to lead the Obama administration’s policy toward Ukraine in April 2014.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/09/23/hunter-bidens-firm-received-3-5-million-from-one-of-russias-most-powerful-oligarchs/

>>10756811

INDICT SOMEONE

Massive data leak of Microsoft's Bing mobile app left more than 100 MILLION records exposed online, including search queries for child pornography and shootings that could be used to blackmail users

An unsecured database belonging to Microsoft's Bing mobile app left more than 100 million user records exposed online.

Security experts say this was a Meow attack, where hackers scrapped the database with location coordinates and search queries that can be used in blackmail attacks and phishing scams.

The team spotted search results for child pornography and gun-related terms referencing to shootings and 'kill commies.'

Researchers with Wizcase say 'it is safe to speculate that anyone who has made a Bing search with the mobile app while the server has been exposed is at risk.'

The database was discovered on September 12 without a password, but was secured four days later on September 16.

Wizcase, an online security research group, spotted the unprotected Microsoft-owned database, which they say was two days after the password had been removed.

The firm, led by white hacker Ata Hakcil, determined the server contained 6.5 terabytes of information and saw it increase by as much as 200 gigabytes each day.

Chase Williams, researcher with Wizcase, wrote in a blog post: 'Based on the sheer amount of data, it is safe to speculate that anyone who has made a Bing search with the mobile app while the server has been exposed is at risk.'

http://www.stationgossip.com/2020/09/massive-data-leak-of-microsofts-bing.html

>>10756928

Enough time for the cuffs

YouTube Sued By PTSD-Stricken Moderator Over 'Beheadings, Rape, Child Abuse And Other Disturbing Content'

An anonymous former YouTube content moderator is suing the Google-owned video sharing platform, claiming she's suffering depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after being forced to watch "objectionable content such as child sexual abuse, rape, torture, bestiality, beheadings, suicide, and murder."

According to the lawsuit, the former moderator "has trouble sleeping and when she does sleep, she has horrific nightmares. She often lays awake at night trying to go to sleep, replaying videos that she has seen in her mind." The woman she says she saw thousands of disturbing videos - including school shootings with dead children, a fox being skinned alive, a person's head getting run over by a tank, and people eating from a smashed open skull.

https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/youtube-sued-ptsd-stricken-content-moderator-over-beheadings-rape-child-abuse-and-other

Esper Vows the US Will Maintain Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge

Israel's defense minister met with Esper to discuss military edge amidst rumors of F-35 sale to the UAE

US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper vowed on Tuesday that the US will help maintain Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge (QME). The QME is mandated by US law and means the US will uphold Israel’s military superiority over its neighbors.

Esper’s made these comments as he welcomed Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz to the Pentagon. “A cornerstone of our defense relationship is preserving Israel’s qualitative military edge in the region,” Esper said. “The United States is committed to that, and the Department of Defense is committed to that imperative.”

Gantz traveled to Washington to meet with Esper and other US officials to discuss Israel’s QME amidst rumors of a US F-35 sale to the UAE. A report from Reuters published on Tuesday said that the US is looking to agree to an initial deal with the Gulf country by December.

The F-35 sale is believed to have been agreed to while the US was brokering a normalization agreement between Israel and the UAE, which was signed last week. Although Israeli officials publicly protested the sale at first, now they seem to be accepting it and are requesting some new weapons of their own.

Gantz also met with White House advisor Jared Kushner and National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien. Besides Israel’s QME, Iran policy was also discussed. “We will continue our uncompromising efforts to curb Iranian aggression and harness more countries toward the effort,” Gantz told O’Brien.

https://news.antiwar.com/2020/09/22/esper-vows-the-us-will-maintain-israels-qualitative-military-edge/

Administration Sued for Records Detailing U.S. Role on Behalf of Glyphosate-maker Bayer in Pressuring Thailand to Reverse Plan to Ban Pesticide

The Center for Biological Diversity sued the administration for public records detailing the U.S. government’s efforts on behalf of Bayer, the maker of the herbicide glyphosate, to convince Thailand last year to reverse its planned ban of the cancer-linked chemical.

The lawsuit comes after documents previously obtained by the Center revealed evidence that the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. trade officials worked closely with the pesticide and processed-food industries to pressure Thailand into scuttling its ban on glyphosate, which the World Health Organization’s cancer-research arm has listedas a probable carcinogen.

The lawsuit, which was filed on Wednesday, seeks additional documents that administration officials have refused to release regarding their communications with representatives of Bayer and other corporations that stood to benefit from the reversal of the ban.

“It’s bad enough that this administration has ignored independent science to blindly support Bayer’s self-serving assertions of glyphosate’s safety,” said Nathan Donley, a senior scientist at the Center. “But to then act as Bayer’s agent to pressure other countries to adopt that position is outrageous.”

The earlier communications obtained by the Center through a Freedom of Information Act request reveal a coordinated effort between U.S. officials and powerful, multinational corporations to thwart actions abroad that might harm sales of their products.

Bayer and Archer Daniels Midland, a U.S.-based international commodities trader, were two of the companies working with federal officials to pressure Thailand to reverse its plan to ban glyphosate, according to the documents.

In October 2019 Thailand’s National Hazardous Substances Committee voted to ban glyphosate and two other highly controversial pesticides: chlorpyrifos and paraquat. But one month later — five days before the ban was to go into effect — Thailand suddenly reversed its decision on glyphosate.

Records reveal that the U.S. government got involved after Bayer appealed to the administration to intervene on two separate occasions in September and October 2019. Both appeals for intervention were forwarded to Ted McKinney, USDA undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs, who previously worked for the pesticide company Dow Agrosciences for nearly 20 years.

https://www.globalresearch.ca/administration-sued-records-detailing-us-role-glyphosate-maker-bayer-pressuring-thailand-reverse-plan-ban-pesticide/5724384

Trump and Biden battle over who’s more pro-Israel, with Adelson and Saban squaring off

Donald Trump keeps trying to inject Israel into the presidential race, but indications are that he’s not making a big impact on voters: polling shows that his many actions in support of Israel have moved Jewish support to 30 percent from his 25 percent support in the 2016 election. But Biden still wins 67 percent which is pretty close to the usual Democratic mark.

In a campaign ad aimed at pro-Israel voters, including evangelicals, Trump trumpeted the peace deals he cut at the White House last week, saying they were the first deals in “decades.” And Trump repeatedly mentioned Israel during his Rosh Hashana call last week to Jewish leaders.

“We really appreciate you, we love your country also,” he told them, according to the JTA.

Trump called Jared Kushner, whose family are keen supporters of Israel, “an unbelievable leader for Israel,” and said Democrats put Israel at risk.

[I]f we don’t win, Israel is in big trouble… We’re in the Middle East because of Israel… This is really a time that’s very important in the life of Israel and the safety of Israel. And we will do a great job. If the other side gets in all bets are off. I think it’ll be a whole different story. I think it’ll be exactly the opposite.

(That’s the second time in a few days Trump said the U.S. is only in the Middle East because of Israel.)

The group “Democratic Majority for Israel” said Trump is trafficking in an antisemitic trope of dual loyalty used to persecute Jews for centuries. And he’s misrepresenting Biden’s record on Israel. Look at all Biden has done to arm Israel:

Equally absurd is Trump’s suggestion that “Israel is in big trouble” if Democrats win in November. Thanks in large part to @JoeBiden‘s leadership, Israel now has the Iron Dome, its Qualitative Military Edge [QME], & the 10-year MOU, the largest US-Israel security agreement ever.

Biden surrogate Dan Shapiro says:

“[Trump’s] been trying every day for four years to turn Israel into a wedge issue with American Jewish voters, and he can’t even move it out of the margin of error.”

Nathan Hersh, an American-Israeli writer, says those older Florida Jews are different.

[H]e only has to win over Jewish voters in Florida. Combined with Repub efforts to cast young House Democrats as antisemitic, this effort may have an impact. (And the normalization agreements are likely to continue, staggered, in advance of the election.)

Biden’s Israel lobbyists say he is the most pro-Israel nominee ever. But if Trump can get to 35 percent of the Jews in Florida, he could take the state, argues the Republican Jewish Coalition.

The Republican Jewish Coalition is posting stories that as VP Joe Biden lobbied Ukraine to vote against Israel in the UN Security Council in 2016, the famous resolution condemning Israeli settlements as a “flagrant violation” of international law. The Obama administration abstained on that resolution, allowing it to pass 14-0, even as Trump’s administration-in-waiting lobbied to defeat the resolution, which Kushner called a “disaster.”

Not just voters are at stake. The RJC is funded in part by Sheldon and Miriam Adelson, who have already given $50 million to Republican causes and are reportedly committing as much as $50 million to the Republican cause in the final stretch. The Adelson money helps explain why the Trump administration is acting bellicose toward the Iranians. Sheldon Adelson called on Obama to nuke Iran.

https://mondoweiss.net/2020/09/trump-and-biden-battle-over-whos-more-pro-israel-with-adelson-and-saban-squaring-off/

The CDC spent your taxpayer money on a $106 million visitor center decorated with waterfalls and Japanese gardens…

The CDC spent your taxpayer money on a $106 million visitor center decorated with waterfalls and Japanese gardens…

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/the-cdc-spent-your-taxpayer-money-on-a-106-million-visitor-center-decorated-with/

Trump Bans DoD Diversity Training That Suggests US Is Racist

President Donald Trump issued a sweeping executive order Tuesday banning the military’s use of diversity training programs that suggest that the United States is "an irredeemably racist and sexist country."

The move is an extension of a prior ban that applied to government workers; the latest order would also block the agencies from paying for "divisive" training programs supplied by federal contractors.

Trump said his order is aimed at combating a "pernicious" ideology taking root in the U.S. that "some people, simply on account of their race or sex, are oppressors; and that racial and sexual identities are more important than our common status as human beings and Americans."

"Unfortunately, this malign ideology is now migrating from the fringes of American society and threatens to infect core institutions of our country," he said in the order.

However, nothing in the order should be construed as prohibiting discussion of what he called "divisive concepts," so long as the discussion is conducted "in an objective manner and without endorsement," Trump said.

The order also directs the DoD and other agencies to assign "at least one senior political appointee responsibility for ensuring compliance with the requirements of this order."

In Twitter posts Tuesday night, Trump wrote, "A few weeks ago, I BANNED efforts to indoctrinate government employees with divisive and harmful sex and race-based ideologies. Today, I've expanded that ban to people and companies that do business with our Country."

He added, "Americans should be taught to take PRIDE in our Great Country, and if you don't, there's nothing in it for you."

The service branches had already begun assessing their diversity training programs following Trump's Sept. 4 executive order and guidance issued by the White House Office of Management and Budget.

The guidance from OMB Director Russell Vought warned that training programs supplied by federal contractors could be smoke screens meant to indoctrinate those participating "to believe divisive, anti-American propaganda."

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/09/23/trump-bans-dod-diversity-training-suggests-us-racist.html

US ambassador: It will take 6-7 years for UAE to get F-35 jets

Friedman appears to denounce critics of planned sale, which Israeli defense officials fear could harm Israel’s military edge, saying matter is being addressed by ‘professionals’

US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman on Wednesday said it would likely take six to seven years before the United Arab Emirates receives the F-35 stealth fighter jet, under a contentious proposed arms sale that has raised concerns in Israel over its potential to damage the country’s military edge in the region.

“The Emiratis have been trying to get the F-35 for six or seven years. The delivery time is probably another six or seven years from now, if they got [approval to purchase the aircraft],” Friedman said in an interview during a Jerusalem Post newspaper conference.

Though not formally a part of a recently signed US-brokered normalization agreement between Israel and the UAE, the sale of the F-35s is widely seen as having been contingent upon Abu Dhabi’s acceptance of the deal with Jerusalem.

Under a 2008 law and a decades-older policy, the United States is prohibited from making arms sales to countries in the Middle East if the Pentagon determines that doing so would damage Israel’s so-called “Qualitative Military Edge.”

The US ambassador seemed to criticize Israeli officials who initially spoke out against or expressed hesitations about the proposed sale of the fifth-generation aircraft, a linchpin in Israel’s aerial superiority strategy. Though he was not explicitly named, this appeared to include Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who said last month that the proliferation of the advanced stealth fighter jet through the region was “not good for Israel.”

“It’s not in Israel’s interest to discuss what they’re afraid of or what they want or what they should get,” Friedman said.

Though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly denied giving his approval for the F-35 sale, he appears to have at least been made aware of it in advance and not informed the Defense Ministry and military that the sale — until then regarded as indefinitely on hold — appeared to be going through.

Friedman criticized efforts to make the sale into a “political issue” and said the matter would be resolved by defense officials from both countries.

“Israel has dealt with the QME behind the scenes, professionally, outside of politics, successfully for more than a decade. It’s going to continue to work that way,” he said.

On Tuesday, Gantz — who was kept out of the loop about the UAE normalization deal and the F-35 sale — met with his American counterpart Mark Esper and other defense officials to discuss ways of maintaining Israel’s advantage in the region.

“The professionals are engaged right now. Let them engage, let them continue to engage, and we’ll get to the right outcome,” Friedman said.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-ambassador-it-will-take-6-7-years-for-uae-to-get-f-35-jets/

The message is clear ISRAEL FIRST FUCK AMERICA

Fauci scolds Rand Paul during tense exchange at hearing

A seemingly irritated Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, scolded Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) at a congressional hearing on Wednesday after the senator claimed that COVID-19 cases might not be rising in New York because of herd immunity.

Fauci, the country's top infectious diseases doctor, told Paul he was wrong to make the suggestion, and he said Paul had also been wrong in other public comments about the concept of herd immunity.

"No, you've misconstrued that, senator, and you've done that repeatedly in the past," Fauci said.

Dr. Fauci has had just about enough of Rand Paul, basically calls him a moron.

"This happens with Senator Rand all the time… If you believe 22% is herd immunity, I believe you’re alone in that. pic.twitter.com/BdsuGsz8TI

— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) September 23, 2020

Fauci also appeared to single out Paul for criticism over comments about the coronavirus, which as of this week has killed more than 200,000 people in the United States.

"If you believe 22 percent is herd immunity, I believe you're alone in that," Fauci told Paul during the hearing, referring to the number of New Yorkers thought to have had COVID-19.

The exchange took place during a Senate Health Committee hearing where Fauci and others are testifying about the pandemic.

Paul, who has frequently criticized lockdowns aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus while questioning their effectiveness, asked Fauci if he had second thoughts over his support for such measures given statistics in other countries.

He claimed mitigation measures like closing movie theaters, bars and limiting restaurant capacity had no impact, because the New York tri-state area had the highest coronavirus death rate in the country.

"It's important that we the people not simply acquiesce to authoritarian mandates on our behavior without first making the nanny state prove their hypothesis," Paul said. "What we do know is that New York and New Jersey and Connecticut and Rhode Island still allowed the highest death rates in the world."

Fauci said New York got hit "pretty badly" but the state has managed to bring its positivity down to about 1 percent because New Yorkers have been following recommendations like wearing masks, keeping physical distance and staying outdoors more than indoors.

When Paul floated the theory that New Yorkers have now developed enough immunity that they are no longer at risk, Fauci appeared irritated and said the senator was completely off base.

"I challenge that, senator," Fauci said, before asking for more time to finish his response "because this happens with Senator Rand all the time."

"You are not listening to what the director of the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] said, that in New York [the infection rate is] about 22 percent. If you believe 22 percent is herd immunity, I believe you're alone in that," Fauci said.

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/517801-fauci-rand-paul-is-not-listening-to-the-cdc-director-about-covid-19-data

XI JINPING SAYS CHINA NOT INTERESTED IN COLD WAR FIGHT WITH U.S. OR ANYONE FOR THAT MATTER

Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is facing fierce U.S. scrutiny over how his country handled its response to the virus, told the 75th gathering of the assembly Tuesday that his country wants to help the world recover and has no intention of global dominance.

“We will never seek hegemony, expansion, or sphere of influence,” Xi said. “We have no intention to fight either a Cold War or a hot one with any country. We will continue to narrow differences and resolve disputes with others through dialogue.” The Chinese leader added, “China will continue to work as a builder of global peace.”

Xi emphasized his belief that no single country will prevail over the virus alone and said that “humanity will win this battle.” He also touted the World Health Organization, which Trump trashed just minutes before as being “virtually controlled” by the Chinese government.

Trump has also vowed to pull the United States from the WHO. “Facing the virus, we should enhance solidarity and get through this together.

We should follow the guidance of science, give full play to the leading role of the World Health Organization, and launch a joint international response to beat this pandemic,” Xi said. “Any attempt of politicizing the issue or stigmatization must be rejected. No country can gain from others’ difficulties or maintain stability by taking advantage of others’ troubles,” he added.

Trump’s speech to the U.N. was notably shorter than Xi’s and laid out an “America First” vision that stood in direct contrast to Xi, who called globalization an “indisputable reality” and warned countries against “burying one’s head in the sand like an ostrich.”

https://thedcpatriot.com/xi-jinping-says-china-not-interested-in-cold-war-fight-with-u-s-or-anyone-for-that-matter/

Jewish Settler Chief: ‘Palestinians have no right to a state, Bible says Israel for the Jews’

In an extended interview with the Israeli i24News Arabic channel, Jewish settler leader Daniella Weiss says that Palestinians have no right to establish a state, and that the land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people as proclaimed by the ‘eternal words of the Bible’.

Weiss also expresses her disappointment with the UAE for demanding that the annexation plan for parts of the West Bank be frozen in exchange for Emirati peace with Israel. Weiss wondered, “I don’t understand why for peace, we, the settlers in Judea and Samaria (i.e. the West Bank), are expected to stop developing ourselves!”

Source: i24NEWS Arabic (YouTube)

Date: Sep 4, 2020

(Important Note: Please help us keep producing independent translations for you by contributing as little as $1/month here: https://www.patreon.com/MiddleEastObserver?fan_landing=true)

Transcript:

Host:

Welcome, dear viewers, to a new episode of “Hadith Akhar”.

Her settlement activity in the West Bank began in the early 1970s. She was the secretary general of the most hardline settlement movement. She was imprisoned for rioting in the West Bank. In past years she has also been active in a movement that supports the establishment of illegal settlement outposts.

We talk to Daniella Weiss in “Hadith Akhar”.

TV report:

Daniella Weiss was born in Bnei Brak, just east of Tel Aviv in 1945. During the period 1984-1988, she was the General Secretary of the Gush Emunim settlement movement. In 1987, she was arrested and convicted with respect to rioting in the city of Qalqilya (located in the north of the West Bank). During the period 1996-2007, she was elected head of the local council of the Kedumim settlement, just near Qalqilya. In 1992, she failed to reach the Knesset on a ticket supported by settlers.

Host:

Welcome Ms. Daniella. Let us start from the latest developments in the (Israeli) political arena.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu froze the annexation plan (to annex the West Bank, or parts thereof, to Israel territory) in exchange for establishing ties with the United Arab Emirates (UAE). First, how do you view this step by Netanyahu?

Weiss:

Greetings. I think that this step is a big mistake on the part of our Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop the development of the Jewish community in Judea and Samaria (i.e. the Israeli government term for the West Bank). But, I’m not sure that he specifically said that he will “freeze” (the annexation plan), I think he said that he will ‘stop the process of annexation of declaring Israeli law on the Jewish community (in that region). But if you’re telling me that it’s even worse (than this), then I’ll be disappointed with him, since (Netanyahu) is a great leader and I, as a member of the Jewish community in Judea and Samaria, always expect more from him.

Host:

This is a controversial topic (cancelation of annexation plan); Netanyahu says that he “halted” or “froze” (the annexation plan). In contrast, the Emirati state says that this plan is “canceled and is now off the table” in exchange for ties with the UAE. So, was it peace in exchange for (cancelling) this Israeli (annexation) plan?

https://thesaker.is/jewish-settler-chief-palestinians-have-no-right-to-a-state-bible-says-israel-for-the-jews/

US slaps sanctions on six individuals, two companies from Russia

Inclusion into the sanction list means asset freezing in the United States and ban for US citizens or firms to conduct business with persons in the list

WASHINGTON, September 23. /TASS/. US authorities expanded sanction lists and introduced restrictive measures against six Russian nationals and two Russian legal entities.

Read also

US sanctions addiction well-known around the world, Kremlin says

"Today’s action targets eight individuals and seven entities directly involved in furthering [Russian businessman Evgeni] Prigozhin’s operations in CAR [the Central African Republic - TASS], assisting the activities of the FSB, or engaging in sanctions evasion activities," the US Treasury says.

The sanctions are introduced against Russian nationals Boris Gaikovich, Elena Ivanova, Evgeni Khodotov, Nadezhda Kuchumova, Alexander Kuzin and Vladislav Zanin, as well against Russian companies M Finans and Okeanos.

Inclusion into the sanction list means asset freezing in the United States and ban for US citizens or firms to conduct business with persons in the list.

https://tass.com/economy/1204303

PRAY FOR EACH OTHER

JUSTICE DELAYED IS JUSTICE DENIED

>>10757382

talk is cheap[